A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Occasionally - though not as much as I used to - I still have friends or acquaintances who ask me (or think about asking me, without saying so) why I live where I live.  What they're really asking, in not so many words, is "why do you live in the 'hood?"  I wish I had a video tape of the morning J.P. and I shared today, because I would show it to anyone who asks me that question.  I think it would explain why I love living in the city more than anything I could tell them.

J.P. didn't sleep well last night (he has a cold), so we got up early and watched "Sid the Science Kid" together, followed by an episode of "World World" (that's a recent discovery).  We arrived at Bongo Java about 8:15 a.m. and although it was already hot and humid, it was nice enough that several people were sitting on the front deck, drinking coffee and eating breakfast.  As J.P. and I walked up the stairs, we saw my friend, Derek Hughey, sitting at a table and reading the New York Times on his iPad.  We said "hi," then walked inside to order breakfast.

As we got in line, J.P. walked around behind the counter to see who was working.  He said "hi, how you doing?" to Megan and a couple of the other young ladies, or barristas, who were making coffee and taking orders.  While we were in line, Will, Ashley and their daughter (14 months old or so) walked in - they're regulars on Sunday mornings and have been for quite some time.  We smiled and waved to them, as I sat J.P. on the counter and placed our order.

As we walked outside, J.P.'s hero, Chad, walked in.  He works at Bongo Java and J.P. adores him.  J.P. said "hi," then gave him "five."  We walked outside and Derek waved us over to sit down at his table to have breakfast.  After a few minutes, Derek left to go home and J.P. and I finished breakfast.  We walked across the street to where I had parked.  There, we saw Allen, a guy who lives around the corner from us, on Acklen.  He was walking to the church he attends on  Belmont Boulevard.  We talked for a minute or two, then went home.

When we got home, J.P. and I walked down the street to talk to James, one of our neighbors.  He walked down from his front porch and showed J.P. a pair of magnetic balls he'd bought at Fall Creek Falls.  J.P. was fascinated by the way he could roll one of the balls toward the other one, on the sidewalk, and they would smack into each other and stick together.  We talked to James for a few minutes, then walked home to get ready for church.

In a span of a couple of hours, J.P. and I had breakfast together and, in the process, ran into several friends and people we have met in the neighborhood.  To me, that's what our neighborhood is all about and that's why I love it - running into people you know, people whom you've met and made friends - and just talking - about nothing and everything.  People of all backgrounds, from all walks of life.  Initially, it's the neighborhood you have in common but, as time passes, you realize you have so much more in common - family, children, church, sports - all kinds of stuff.  That's our neighborhood.